Entering his 12th season at Oregon State, Mike Riley is the dean of coaches in the Pacific-12 Conference. He coached the San Diego Chargers from 1999 to 2001 and served one season on Jim Haslett's staff with the New Orleans Saints in 2002. Riley's program has produced several NFL standouts in recent years, including Falcons running back Steven Jackson and Patriots cornerback Brandon Browner. New Orleans Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis and linebacker Victor Butler also played for Riley at Oregon State. The man knows NFL talent, and he thinks the Saints landed a future star in former Beavers wide receiver Brandin Cooks. I caught up with Riley on Friday morning and asked him for a scouting report on the newest New Orleans Saint. Here's our conversation:

Q: What can you tell Saints fans about Brandin Cooks?

Riley: "He's a really, really good player, and if you can believe it, an even better person. His work ethic is at the highest level. His character is at the highest level. And of course, his talent speaks for itself. He is big-time."

Q: What did you think about him going to the Saints?

Riley: "I'm really excited for him to go to New Orleans. I know Drew Brees is a worker and likes to surround himself with workers. And that's what he's got in Brandin Cooks. I think Sean (Payton) has a vision for him as a player and how he's going to use him. That's the key to good coaching. I think it's a great fit."

Q: Sean Payton said he was as impressed with Cooks' intangible assets as he was his tangible ones. I assume that's something you saw in him at Oregon State?

Riley: "He is really competitive. I mean, really competitive. Now, he's a great person and he's going to be a great spokesperson for the organization, but deep down he is a competitor. It shows through in the work he does. He's always going the extra mile in everything he does. He'll be an immediate pro. He'll always be on time, and they'll never have any trouble with him. They'll love him down there."

Q: He's compared often to (former Carolina Panthers receiver) Steve Smith. Do you see that as a valid comparison?

Riley: I haven't seen much of Steve Smith, to be honest. But from the reputation he has, the competitiveness, the playmaking ability, I'd say it's a good comparison.

Q: Oregon State has a rich history of great receivers (T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chad Johnson, James Rodgers, Mike Haas, Sammie Stroughter, Markus Wheaton). Where does Cooks rank in that group?

Riley: "I hate to compare players. They're all great players, and Brandin certainly belongs in the group. It seems like each one that came along broke the receiving records here, and then Brandin just blew all of the previous records out of the water."

Q: He's only 5-9, 190 pounds. What kind of adjustment is he going to have to make in the NFL, where the defensive backs are so big and physical?

Riley: It'll definitely be an adjustment for him. People try to press him, but he's so quick and strong, it's hard. He put on the best 10 pounds (of muscle) I've ever seen between his sophomore and junior year. He got stronger, and of course, he's so durable. He never misses a game or a practice. He'll be tough to press at the line of scrimmage because he's so quick. But he'll welcome the challenge."

Q: Payton talked about his versatility. How did you all use him at Oregon State?

Riley: "We kept trying to find ways to get the ball in his hands. We ran screens to him and used him on sweep reverses. He returned kicks. He ran all the routes, especially the deep ones."

Q: How did you land him in recruiting?

Riley: "That's a good story. He's a very thoughtful young man. He's kind of ahead of his age that way. He had committed to UCLA, where his best friend from high school was going. So we kind of stayed out there with a net. Then one day we got a phone call from him. He told our assistant, Jay Locey, that he'd like to take a second look at Oregon State. I think he might have been a little concerned about that pistol offense at UCLA and he liked what we were doing at Oregon State. He's similar size to James Rodgers and I think he liked the way he was being used in our offense. So he came for a visit and James Rodgers was his host. They hit it off and the rest is history."

Q: Did he make an immediate contribution?

Riley: "He played right away and improved every year. When we had him and Wheaton together -- two guys that could really play and had speed opposite each other -- it was really good. Teams had to pick who there were going to double. I was really kind of worried after Markus left about how Brandin would handle all of the coverage he was going to see (last season), but he was unbelievable. He was doubled almost every game. USC single-covered him one time and it was a touchdown."

Q: Did you talk to the Saints much about him during the pre-draft process?

Riley: "No, I didn't. We didn't know the Saints valued him that highly. We'd heard a lot about the Jets and the Eagles having interest in him, so we thought that's where he might go, but I was pleasantly surprised when the Saints took him. Everyone in New Orleans is really going to like him once he gets down there. He's just one of the guys and that's what makes him so special because for us he was kind of a superstar, but he never carried himself that way."